It’s very difficult to say whether the cable television industry as a whole is doing well, or is struggling. We’re well aware of the fact that it’s a very complex market, and that some customers are profiting while others are just scraping by. Each company has their own set of unique challenges they are working to overcome.

With this in mind, it’s definitely best to avoid sweeping generalizations about the state of the industry.

We did get excited, however, to see a recent study from MoffettNathanson Research indicating that some operators recorded positive subscriber growth in 4Q15. According to the study, cable TV operators added 102,000 subscribers during the final stretch of 2015 which is a noteworthy accomplishment.

By comparison, telecommunications companies declined by 224,000 subscribers during this time. Satellite pay TV providers, for that matter, added just 73,000 subscribers.

“For the first time since 1994, the cable industry’s subscriber numbers are better than pay TV’s as a whole,” explained senior research analyst Craig Moffett following the report.

This is great news, and should be encouraging even for businesses that have been struggling as of late. Despite the fact that cord cutting is not going away, and the list of challenges and complexities is ever-growing in the pay TV industry, this is proof that consumers are still interested in cable television and that video remains profitable.

Even as we look to a future where broadband Internet will play an increasing role in the delivery of video, there will always be a strong demand for pay television services.